Turkey arrested two
intelligence operatives in Istanbul on Monday who confessed to spying on Arab
nationals on behalf of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of whom is suspected
of having connections to the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, who was killed more than six months ago by a Saudi hit squad.

Citing judicial
sources, Anadolu Agency reported Friday that Turkey was investigating whether
the arrival of one of those detained had connections to Khashoggi’s murder in
October last year.

Reuters also reported
on Friday that according to a senior Turkish official, the two confessed to
spying on Arab nationals for the UAE and that now Turkey is investigating
whether their arrival in the country is related to Khashoggi’s death.

The two UAE nationals
were detained as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public
Prosecutor’s Office and the two were referred to a court to be arrested on
charges of military, political and international espionage.

Khashoggi was killed
in the kingdom’s Istanbul Consulate on Oct. 2, 2018, by a team of 15,
consisting of Saudi officials who arrived in Turkey for his murder and a
cover-up team also in charge of dismembering Khashoggi’s body.

It has also been
reported that one of the two men arrived in Turkey in October 2018, only few
days after Khashoggi was murdered inside Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul.
Officials said that the other spy arrived later to assist his colleague.

“We are
investigating whether the primary individual’s arrival in Turkey was related to
the Jamal Khashoggi murder,” said the official, adding the person has been
under surveillance for the past six months.

“It is possible
that there was an attempt to collect information about Arabs, including
political dissidents, living in Turkey,” he further underlined.

During the arrests,
Turkish officials also seized an encrypted computer located in a hidden
compartment at what the official told Reuters was the spy ring’s base.

The official, who
requested anonymity, said statements by the detained men suggested their
intelligence operation targeted political exiles and students.

The Daily Sabah
learned that the suspects identified as S.S. and Z.H. also said that the aim of
the spy ring was to create an anti-Turkey structure. S.S. came under the radar
of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) for his meetings and was
taken under physical and technical surveillance, according to government
officials. The MIT also detected that he was gathering information from his
contacts in exchange for money.

The other suspect,
Z.H., was sent to Turkey five months after to help S.S. resume his activities
more comfortably. The two were found to be working until late at night on some
days. When intel units concluded that S.S. and Z.H. were conducting espionage
activities, the MIT and Istanbul police held a joint operation Monday while the
two were on their way to a rendezvous point.

The CIA concluded in
October that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered the assassination
of Khashoggi. However, U.S. President Donald Trump has disputed the CIA report
and told reporters: “The CIA points it both ways. Maybe he did, maybe he
didn’t,” a phrase he had used in a controversial statement released on the
incident. When the reporter asked who should be held responsible for the
killing, Trump responded, “Maybe the world should be held accountable
because the world is a vicious place.”

After weeks of denying
any involvement in the crime, Saudi Arabia later admitted that Khashoggi had
been killed inside the consulate but denied that the royal family and the crown
prince had any prior knowledge of or responsibility for Khashoggi’s killing.
The incident was blamed on lower-level officials, including five that are now
facing the death penalty over their involvement; the kingdom has indicated 21
people are officially involved in the case.

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